Frozen heart
by Chloe Benson
Summary: K.C Winters is the princess of the underworld. She has everything she could have wanted and more, that is until her brother vanished without a goodbye when she turned fifteen. Now she has turned eighteen and the council has prearranged a marriage for her. Her betrothed is anything but warm though, and it may be up to K.C to break his frozen heart.
1. Chapter 1

**hey guys, I'm back after my serious hiatus. Schools just been super hard lately and I'm not going to lie that writing has kind of lost it's pizzas, but after seeing so many people come and keep writing for this serious really got my juices flowing again and this story came to be. I can't wait to see what you guys think! Here's my retuning story with K.C who needed some serious love and attention after Rain. **

When I was fourteen years old, my brother and I defeated Hermes. The poor guy had taken over Olympus thinking it was the only way to win over my mother. It was kind of a complete and utter failure since the Fates had it written, from before my mother was even a figment of anyone's imagination, that my brother and I would come and defeat the captor of Olympus. Thing have changed now, a lot.

For starts, my brother's married now. He married his, I guess you could call her his childhood sweetheart. Her name is Clio, and she's one of the Muses. I haven't really seen him a lot since they got married since they have been wandering around the world collecting old manuscripts for Clio's library. From what rumors are saying though, my brother might be a father in a few months. He was going to bring Clio into the Underworld to give birth, if she was pregnant, and that would have been the first time I've seen him since he got married. He got married about two years ago, when I was sixteen, now, I'm eighteen.

Not only have times changed, I've changed. I managed to sprout half a foot, and now I'm in the five foot six radius, which I'm entitled to I say that I'm proud of, I also managed to gain a few things I didn't have when I was fourteen, namely, what Xander put as "womanly magnets to the other gender". My mom and dad hadn't been happy after that comment, mostly my dad though, who practically stares down any one who is male and comes near me.

I tried to tell him I wasn't that interested in guys right now, let's just say that he pretty much told me I was lying with his eyes. And he was kind of right, I do like guys, I just don't have time right now. Between my studies with Irene, my "lady lessons" with Sofia, and my time with my mom and dad, I have zip, nada, zero time for a boyfriend. My mom actually felt bad for me, saying that I was at that age where I wanted to go out and experiment with things. I had heard that argument from my room three doors down that night.

Don't get me wrong, I love my dad. Hell, I love him more than anything in the world, besides my mom and my brother, they're up there with him. Nothing makes me happier though than sitting in the small room we have, reading a book, and then seeing him come in, sit in the chair next to me and start reading too. My mom called us reading fanatics since she had not even glanced at some of the books we had read. I'd gone through the likes of Jane Eyre, the Scarlet Letter and such, and I was yet to find a classic I hated, which pleased my dad immensely since he adored the classics. My grandmother called me an old spirit in a young body.

Everyone in Olympus seemed to have an opinion about me, I think the only person who hadn't said anything about me was Phillip, then again, he didn't say much in the first place.

The only thing I hated in my life, besides the stupid family parties where everyone told me how to act, what was different about me now, and what I should change, were my "lady lessons". I absolutely abhor the mornings when I am woken up at five and expected to be dressed in a corset that I was pretty sure Ella enjoyed putting me in, and then expected to sit until twelve with a stuffy dress on, learning things like propers curtsies and dances. Bottom line, I'm not a lady. Dylan always says it will take a miracle to find a guy that would put up with me. He says on a daily basis that somewhere along the lines of my development, the Fates screwed up and decided that I was going to be a girl instead of a guy. I try to take it as a complement, and he doesn't take it as such when I kick him in the shins or in the back of his knee. My mom gives me full reign with him, telling me to just miss his shins one day and kick him as hard as I could in the crotch. My dad privets agrees, but he's not allowed to say anything.

Lately though, things have been pretty quiet with my family, no crazy gods or goddess trying to take over. The only news I heard daily updates for was the hunt for Eris. Circe had been discovered about a year after my brother was crowned prince of the Underworld. She had begged for mercy and the council had granted as merciful a punishment as they could, which in my opinion isn't really all that merciful. She was sent into a part of Olympus where she now worked. I had no idea what her use was, but sometimes I saw her walking around when I went with my parents up to Olympus. She was always very polite with me, bowed her head and such, I had a feeling that she was embarrassed when she saw me. I mean me and my brother kicked the crap out of her, Eris and James, that would make me pretty embarrassed at least.

Today's been a little different though, it's not so quiet at Olympus. When I arrive with my mom and dad everyone was whispering and looking at me funny. My mom and dad said goodbye to me outside of the council room and then disappeared inside. Apparently no one but the council was allowed inside since the whole place was kind of a mess. Dylan and Xander had teased Milo for the longest time that it was his fault. Milo always said that he wouldn't have had to do anything if they hadn't been captured. That usually shut them up very quickly. Milo had had that kind of attitude all the time after he'd been crowned, my mom had thought it was exceptionally refreshing, Walter hadn't of course, but he never really seemed to like my brother for some reason.

I smile as I say goodbye to my parents and my mom gives me a soft kiss on the forehead. I pull away and wipe my forehead quickly, and she smiles at me before slipping past my dad who is holding the door open. He gives me a smile as well and then slips inside the room.

(/)

Henry slips his arms around my shoulders and guides me towards our thrones. The room was a disaster, it still looked like a battle took place here. Almost all the windows were shattered and the marble floor was cracked in a few places. For almost four years passing, we hadn't done a very good job of cleaning up. Walter still fumed whenever the whole situation was brought up, and Henry and I weren't sure if he was mad that half of the damage was Milo's fault, or about what happened in general.

We remained standing until Xander arrived five minutes after us, and with a irritated glance at Xander, Walter told us to be seated. I sat down as slowly as I could but in the end I pretty much collapsed into my throne. Henry took my hand quickly in his own and whispered softly to me, "are you alright my love?"

I gave him a tired smile and a nod. With all the work in the Underworld, since James had neglected the whole place, I was exhausted; Henry more than me for the most part. Those dark circles that he had had before the war against Cronus, had returned and he usually passed out the moment we were in bed. My exhaustion came in another form. It had been probably the biggest surprise when I hadn't been able to button my pants a couple weeks ago. Henry had of course instantly panicked and worried that something was wrong, as usual, but after a few days of observation, we both ended up laughing.

No one else on the council was aware and we kept it that way. The less they knew, the better, that was what we assumed. It was especially vital that Walter didn't know. He had spoken harshly with Henry about us having children after the whole James debacle, and Henry had stood up to his brother, which had left Walter dumb found. We knew though that Walter would not be happy if he found out we were having another baby, and we were certain he would lash out at Milo and K.C for Henry's actions.

Henry gives me a smile and then softly began to run his thumb in circles on my forehand. His gaze leaves mine eventually and he looks at Phillip who is giving an impossibly detailed report on what has happened while he was rebuilding after James neglected his kingdom. Everyone but Walter seemed on the verge of death by boredom, with what Phillip was saying. I leaned my chin into my hand and stared out the window at the sky outside absentmindedly. A few birds had settled near the window and were happily trying to build a nest. I smiled at them and then turned my gaze back to the circle when I heard Philip's deep voice pause. Philip appeared to be wrapping up which meant Walter would go next and Henry would be expected to say something after that.

His grip on my hand hadn't lessened since the meeting had started, and for a moment I wondered why. I glanced at him momentarily hoping he would catching my gaze and tell me, but his gaze was distant, and as Walter began to speak his grip on my hand tightened to the point that it was almost painful. I tried to pull away a little bit and he seemed to shake himself out before loosening his grip. Walter set his eyes straight on us and then said, "Henry, perhaps you would like to speak now?"

Henry stood slowly and released my hand as he did so. He ran his fingers through his hair before launching into the speech we had planned, adding tiny details in here and there. He finished faster than Walter and Philip combined and then went to sit down quickly. Walter frowned for a moment and then said softly, "how old is your daughter, brother?"

Henry paused for a moment and I looked at Walter nervously, what could he possibly want with that information? My mother glanced at Walter with a hard stare that seemed to tell him to shut up. He glanced in her direction and then back at Henry who spoke softly, "what does it matter?" His voice held soft thunder and his gaze was almost deadly, it made me shiver slightly until he sat down and took my hand again. Water waved away the question with his hand before replying, "I'm merely curious as she is actually an important matter of discussion today."

Henry's grip on my hand tightens and he replied gently, "she's eighteen. She just turned eighteen a few-"

"Oh, perfect." Walter replied as he leaned back in his throne comfortably. Henry narrowed his eyes and then with a voice that was shaky with fury, he questioned, "what of it, brother?"

Walter glanced at Ella and then replied casually, "Ella has been quite busy the past year looking at suitable gods for her to see."

Henry stood quickly and everyone looked at him in surprise. Walter glanced at him and I saw the tiniest smile flash across Walters features. He was happy with this then, he was happy to torture Henry like this. I was well adapted to the politics between the three brothers, Henry complained about it constantly to me when we were just sitting in our room together. This was just plain rude and painful though. I took Henry's hand tightly in my own and then said, "this was never mentioned to us."

"Of course not, it was decided by the council that K.C must be married now that she has turned eighteen. We assumed she would not be able to handle it on her own, so Ella went out and found a suitable husband."

"She's eighteen!" I shouted as I stood up in shock as well. Walter glared at my outburst and then said, "you were eighteen Katherine."

"That was different, I needed to marry Henry then, K.C, she's not ready. She's hardly spent any time with us, and she's never dated anyone before-" Walter holds his hand up to stop me and then motioned for Henry and me to take our seats. Henry remains standing as I sat in fury. He crosses to Walter and as he walks he speaks calmer than I thought he would.

"She is but a baby to us brother. She is no where near ready to be wed. How dare you go behind our backs and find a man-"

"Oh brother, we didn't just find a man. The arrangements have been made. Your daughter has been betrothed, congratulations."

I had seen Henry over-the-edge furious only twice in my life. Once when he stormed Cronus' prison to get me, and second when James had touched me the first time. His face paled and his fists clenched so tightly that the cords in his neck stood out. His lips were pursed tightly, and his body seemed frozen and stiff as a rock. His eyes had a strange sense of calm though. I stood slowly and then spoke for Henry, I was sad to say my voice wasn't as strong as his when I spoke finally, "have we not learned our lessons with betrothals?"

Walter looked at me as if he were confused for a moment before tilting his head to the side and saying, "what ever do you mean Kate?"

"Persephone." The name seemed to ring through the council room and when I looked at Henry, his lips were barely open and the name had almost not made it out.

It felt like the temperature of the room had dropped twenty degrees and when I looked at my mother, her hands were griping the arms of her throne and a soft sheet of ice was spreading along them and towards the floor. Walter glared at her and said, "enough Diana."

She set her icy gaze on him as I flipped around to face Walter. King of the Skies or not, I was done with him, and he was done meddling in my life and Henry's like we were no more than game pieces to amuse him. I stood as straight as I could and spit, "Persephone is a prime example. Do we really want to have that entire situation to happen again?"

The room went deathly silent as I spoke and Walter eventually stood up to face us. He took a small step towards me only for Henry to step in front of him. Henry narrowed his eyes and spit, "my queen speaks truthfully. K.C is too young. Not only that, she comes for a different understanding of marriage and what it means between two people. She will not be happy with just being married off as if she were some piece of finery."

Walter snorted softly and replied quietly, "you treat her as such brother," he gestured around the room and spoke louder, "this council has already made it's decision. K.C Winters is to be married on the eve of her half birthday."

The calm in Henry's eyes was shattered as he let his fists slowly uncurl. I grabbed his arm before he could do anything and said, "fine, but on conditions that Henry and I dictate."

Walter glanced at me with narrowed eyes and then replied, "and what conditions do you speak of?"

"She will be allowed to spend six months with him, just as I was given, she will remain with me and Henry, and this god will visit her, not the other way around, and when it comes down to a decision, K.C decides whether or not she will marry him." I stood up taller and Henry gripped one of my hands tightly. Walter frowned at us for a moment until he said, "the first I can deal with. The second unfortunately is too late. It has been decided that K.C shall stay with him, in his home, to accommodate herself to the environment. The last request, we will see what happens in the end Kate."

"That's not good enough," Henry growled as he pulled his arm from my grip. Walter narrowed his eyes and Philip stood up to curtail whatever fight might start.

"I apologize if it is not good enough for you. But as you and your wife keep secrets, this council kept this a secret until such a time as it was proper to say." Walter turned then and sat down in his throne, he nodded to me and Henry and then said, "please brother, take your seat and make sure your queen does as well."

Henry's shoulders seemed to slump in defeat slightly as he turned on his heel and walked back to his throne. I stood in the middle of the circle though, my hands clasps in front of me and my eyes narrowed on Walter. He gestured to my throne and then said, "take your throne Katherine, you rightfully earned it, did you not?"

I lifted my chin high and calling on all the strength and determination I had left, I said, "Walter, please reconsider. I don't want something to happen. Please, I don't want my daughter to have her heart broken or the heart of someone she can't please."

Walter sighed and then waving his hand again he said, "sit down Kate, we don't have time for this anymore."

I clenched my jaw tightly and then hissed, "you're kidding me right? We have nothing but time! We have eternity to decide this!"

Walter stood and with thundering anger he commanded, "sit down Katherine!"

The room shook with power and I quickly backed up and sat down in my throne. Henry grabbed my hand in his and squeezed it. Walter stood for a moment still power rolling off of him in waves as he slowly sat down, with his narrowed gaze on me.

With that the meeting continued. For Henry and me though, there wasn't much left to know. Henry did not speak for the remainder of the meeting, and neither did I. When

the meeting closed Henry and I were the first to rise. The council usually remained a few seconds after standing as a sign of respect, Henry and I did no such thing. The moment the council stood, we walked out.

Walter watched us with a mixture of shock and fury, and as we passed him Henry turned and said, "if you want respect brother, earn it."

He continued to walk and softly wrapped an arm around my waist as we left the circle.

(/)

My parents were strangely quiet at dinner that night. As gods and immortals we didn't have to eat, but the tradition of dinner had been started when Milo and I had come home. Even after Milo left, we still sat down at dinner and mostly talked, tonight it was too quiet though.

I chewed for a second before looking up and asking, "what happened in the meeting today?"

My mom snapped her gaze from the table and said, "nothing of importance, same old thing."

"Power struggles and such," my dad continued as he leaned back to look at me.

I frowned at both of them and then said, "no, something happened."

"What makes you think that?" My dad questions as he looks at me closely.

I shrug as I take another bite and then chew slowly so that I don't have to talk. My dad moves his plate aside and then leans his forearms on the table, lacing his fingers together and looking at me closely he says, "what do you think happened, I don't want you running around thinking there are shadows on the walls when there is nothing there."

I shift and then setting my fork down and pushing my plate away I look down at my shirt and tug on it softly. My dad sighs and then whispers, "K.C, talk to us."

I look at him and then back down at the plate, slowly I draw patterns on the table with my finger and my dad says softly again, "K.C, what did you hear?"

"It's not what I heard, it's what I saw. You and mom left and even though you guys try to pretend everything's all handy dandy, I saw how upset you guys were," I reply as I go to moving my food around with my fork. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore, and the mashed potatoes looked disgusting to me. My mom looked at my dad for a moment and I knew then that they were having one of their "parenting conversations". Ninety nine percent of the time these were done through their thoughts, that way I didn't know what they were debating.

With a sigh my mom sets her fork down and then looking at me very seriously, she says, "there's something your dad and I need to tell you K.C."

I blink at her in surprise and then reply, "um, okay."

She swallows and then reaching across the table she takes my hand and says, "a couple weeks ago at a meeting you dad and I said something that made Walter really upset-"

"Is he going to do something? Like hurt you guys-"

"K.C, let me finish honey," my mom was known for her patients, most of the shades and souls loved it when she judged with my dad since she kept him a little more optimistic and patient. She takes a deep breath and moves her hair out of her face before laying her hand over mine and saying, "Walter went to find backlash for this. He knew that going after me and your father would not earn him support from the council, so, he went for the route that no one would expect backlash in."

I blink at her and then looking at my dad I whisper, "what's going on dad?"

He looks pained at the fear in my voice and when I look back at my mom she whispers, "he went after what we want to protect the most. You. He had Ella go out and-" she breaks and my dad lays his hand on her shoulder and finishes, "he sent Ella out and she found and betrothed you to someone. We have no idea who it is, or where they are-"

"What!" I shriek as I stand. My chair topples backwards and hits the floor so hard that Cerberus leaps to his feet and starts pacing the ground as if there was a threat. My dad stands quickly and I back away from him and the table. He tries to reach for me and the moment his hand touches my arm I yank it away and shout, "no! What do you mean I'm betrothed? Like the people in the Middle Ages? Do I have to like marry him and then have a baby as soon as we're married!"

My dad moved around the table so quickly that I had no time to react, he grabs my arms tightly in his grip and says, "your mother and I are doing everything to keep this from happening, I promise."

I break out crying in fear, I haven't cried in a long time, which is what only makes me cry harder. My dad pulls me into his arms and pressing his lips to my hair, he whispers soft comforting phrases. My mom is up in that instant too, and my dad opens his arm to her, she slips in and begins to smooth down my hair try her best to calm me down as well.

We stand like that for a long time, my parents just calming me down and me trying to come to terms with the whole thing, until my mom breaks away and begins to clean up the table. My dad wraps his arm around my shoulder and says softy, "why don't you go get cleaned up, and we'll try to discuss this as calmly as possible later."

He walks me out to the hallway and as soon as I set foot in it, he slips back inside and starts whispering with my mom.

They're voices are too low for me to hear exactly what their saying, so hugging my arms to my chest I slip down the hallway and turn right.

When I was fourteen, I got lost in my own house. Stupid right? Wrong. My dad literally found me on the other side of the house about two hours later, after that, I was usually walked everywhere. Now though, it was almost expected that I knew three routes, the dinning room to my room, the throne room to my room, and the small room for my studies back to my room. For the most part though, I had slipped around and found little nooks and crannies to hide in when I just needed to be alone. Now, I passed those with Cerberus trailing after me, panting and expecting me to pet him or play with him.

My room was located down the hall from my parents room, which sometimes made it pretty cool for listening in on conversations, other times it made it hard to keep my own conversations with people quiet. Not that I was doing anything that required keeping quiet, okay, maybe that one time that Christian was here it sounded like we were doing something we weren't supposed to, but I swear on my soul we were just wrestling. My dad didn't really believe me though, so Christian was not allowed down in the Underworld anymore. To make matters worse, Xander told me a few weeks later that he was dating someone, a pretty cloud nymph with a serious rack, the last part was Dylan's addition, with a subtle glance my direction to see my reaction. I think that was the first time that I realized that I had really liked Christian. It was also probably the first time I had felt insignificant, no one had made me feel more beautiful that Christian, and now that I knew someone was better than me, well, I guess that's what heart break felt like.

I sighed as I came our of my musings and pushing my bangs out of my eyes I turn the door handle to my room and slip inside. Somehow Cerberus slips in behind me and leaps up onto the light blue bed spread. He turns in a circle and then settles down so he can watch what I'm doing. My room was my space, and I had chosen a bit of a lighter theme than the rest of the rooms. Blues, whites, and greens were the main colors and I had a small collection of personal things from whatever explorations I had had and a few things Christian had brought me. Namely a few beautiful shells and a small jar of stardust. At least that's what he told me it was, but I think it's just some glitter and really diluted glow in the dark paint.

I yank my rubber band out of my hair and shake out my loose curls. No one could explain how, but as soon as I had spent my first winter in the Underworld, my hair had curled naturally. Not the big giant mass that my aunt had, but something between my mom's wavy curls and my aunts mass of them. I wasn't exactly upset about it, the on,y problem was brushing them I guess.

As soon as I'm done shaking out my hair, I glare at Cerberus over my shoulder, who whined and then tucked his head under his paws. I smile as I pull off my shirt and start digging around for something to wear to bed. Ella, no matter how hard she pushed, could never, ever get rid of my sleeping in sweats problem. Try as she might with nightdresses, I could not give up my thing for sweats.

Cerberus eventually lifts his paws and watches me slip into the bathroom to wash my face and finish getting ready.

When I come back out my dad is sitting on my bed with Cerberus' head lolling in his lap. The dog looked absolutely blissful while my dad scratched him behind the ears. I cross the room to my book shelf and running my fingertips along the faded and worn titles I inquire, "have you heard from Milo lately?"

"Not recently, last I heard, he was taking Clio to some island to hunt down an old scroll."

"What a jerk." I comment as I grab a sweater that I had draped over a chair and start folding it. My dad raises his brow and says, "what ever for?"

"He promised to take me on their next trip. Jerk."

My dad laughs and then says, "a shame I'm sure."

I narrow my eyes playfully in his direction and then say, "you try being cooped up down here all this time."

His smile falls for a second but he recovers quickly to say, "your mother and I don't trap you down here."

"That's not what I meant dad," I whisper softly as I sit down next to him. The whole entrapment thing was a sore subject between him and my mom. She insisted that she enjoyed being with him, but he ins sited that she needed to got to the surface more often. That was an argument that sometimes left them angry at each other for a few hours, but other than that, they never really fought about anything serious.

He sighs and then taking my hand tightly in his own he says, "your so quiet about going to the surface, we jut assume you want to stay down here."

"And I do! I would miss you guys too much if I left."

He smiles sadly before leaning and kissing my forehead softly. When he pulls away slightly he says, "and we would miss you."

I smile up at him and whisper, "besides, being on the surface means dealing with men, and I know what a fan of that you are."

He barely frowns before whispering, "I readily await the day that someone is worthy of my daughter."

I laugh as I stand again and go to find something to occupy my hands so that I'm not looking at him when the next subject comes up. My dad watches me for a second before sighing and standing as well. I sit down at my vanity and grab my brush so that I don't look at my dad. He leans against the edge of the vanity and watches me brush my hair.

"K.C, we need to talk about this whole thing."

I look up at him and then say, "why does it matter? You and mom are going to figure it out and then I won't have to do it."

He sighs and then leaning his chin in his chest for a second, he closes his eyes to think. I had found it impossibly funny that my dad and Milo were almost the exact same person. Milo stood just like that whenever he was thinking deeply about something, and it appeared that without even being around our father he had inherited the trait.

I waited patiently for him to finish thinking and then he sighed and finally said, "I don't think your mother and I will be able to change this."

I narrowed my eyes at my image as I slowly braided my hair. My dad sighed and then stepping behind me he laid his hands on my shoulders and bent over as he whispered, "you don't have to be afraid. I doubt he will even have to speak to you before he falls in love."

"Is that what happened with you and mom?" I whispered softly as I looked at our reflection in the vanity mirror. He smiled and whispered, "I loved your mother from the moment I heard she was going to be born."

To most people it would be weird to hear their dad say that, or they would just think it was overly romantic. For my family though, it was the perfected comment. My mother was born to try and become the new Queen of the Underworld, and my father had loved her from the moment he had heard she was born, or so he claimed. My mother liked to tease him about it sometimes, and she enjoyed seeing him squirm over it. My parents are different from most peoples parents, besides the fact that they are king and queen of the Underworld and gods, they are just different. For starters, I don't know many people's dads that are literally a million years older than their mothers, that, or people whose parents argue over whether or not a person deserved eternal damnation. Those are usually funny arguments between my parents. Sometimes my mom will argue that the punishment was too harsh, and my dad would argue against her until my mom gave up and collapsed into her throne.

I love my mom's throne. I love the smooth, white diamond arm rests, and the soft seat cushion that was red velvet. I loved running my fingertips along the cushion and just feeling the velvet. Sometimes when we were having family conversations, my mom let me sit in her throne while she sat on one of the armrests. It made me feel powerful as I sat looking over all the pews. My mom said that if anything happened to my dad or Milo that I was going to be crowned ruler of the Underworld and that I should get used to the power my parents had. That was the main reason for my lady lessons. As improbable as it was that my dad and Milo would both die unexpectedly, I was still in line to the throne and therefore I had to be prepared to receive it.

My dad pressed his lips to my hair and then whispered, "everything will be okay. Your mother and I will do our best."

He squeezes my shoulders one more time and then turned to leave and I turned quickly on the stool to look at his back and say, "I don't want him to like me for just my looks though. I don't want to be a pretty doll that he dresses up like Walter did to-"

"You will not be a doll to anyone K.C. It is your decision whether or not you let someone command that power over you." He looked incredibly serious and I lowered my eyes quickly. I had been told about Calliope when I was sixteen, my mom used the story as a way of teaching me the difference between love and infatuation. The subject had made my father uncomfortable and silent for days, and as I had learned, there was a part to the story my mom had left out. He sighs and when I look up again he smiles at me and as he starts to leave he whispers, "I love you."

"I love you too dad." I whispered as he nodded and then closed the door behind him. I sat watching the door and brooding over what he had said, in the end I stood up and walked to my bed. I sat down on the bed slowly and reached onto my night table and picked up the frame sitting there. It was the closest thing that I had to a picture of my brother. In fact it was the only picture I allowed myself to have of him. He had made if for my fifteenth birthday, and it was my most treasured possession. It was a memory of him with his arms wrapped around me tightly from behind, both of us laughing like we didn't care who saw us or what they thought.

Milo hadn't personally been able to give it to me sadly. Instead it had been on my nightstand when I woke up on my fifteenth birthday with an apology letter saying he had to leave but that he loved me and he wished me a happy birthday and many more to come if he wasn't back for them. I remembered refusing to open it because I wanted Milo there when I opened one of the few birthday presents I had ever received in my life. My mom had eventually convinced me a few days later that Milo would have been sad if I let it just collect dust without at least looking at it. As soon as I had torn enough of the paper off to know what it was, I'd hugged it to my chest and run from the room. My parents had let me go, assuming that I was having a moment that I needed to have alone. When they found me in my room that night, my pillow was still wet with tears and the wrapping was all over the bed, but I was clutching that damn memory to my chest like it was a fresh breath of air after almost drowning.

They had left me to my own devices that week and I think they knew that I needed to just be alone.

I sit the memory back on the nightstand and then whisper to no one in particular, "what should I do Mi? You always seemed to know what to do, give me a sign at least."

I sat looking at the memory for a long time before narrowing me eyes as spitting to my imaginary brother, "fine! Be that way, see if I care!"

I turned the memory on its front and roll over, and then pull the pillow over my head. Milo wasn't any use anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

Half of a year passed way too quickly for me. In that time my lessons with Ella and Sophia doubled, not only was I taking dance and curtsy lessons, there was etiquette; how to address people properly, how to speak to certain people, worst of all, how to plan events. In the last monthly my preparation, Ella made me plan a ball. It was there that I would meet my betrothed, or so everyone had stated.

Apparently somewhere along the way my parents were thrown out of making any decisions because Walter found out that they were hiding the fact that they were having another baby. If he thought he was the only one that was surprised then he had another thing coming. It killed me that I had to leave and I wouldn't get to see my baby brother. That's what Theo said it was at least, and my mom had been ecstatic, my dad had had that same level headed coolness that told me he was trying to hide his happiness. I wondered if they had told Milo that he was going to have a little brother, I doubt it though. There hadn't been a sign of him in the Underworld and Ella continued to scold me and tell me that Milo was old enough now to take care of himself. She didn't realize that _I_ was the one who needed him.

On the afternoon of the ball I woke up late. It was a Saturday and those were always reserved for me to satiate my favorite pleasures that I never got to appease, sleep, and horseback riding. I came out of a deeper sleep than normal and I groggily woke from my dream. It had been such a nice dream though, and I really didn't want to wake up. I had been sitting on a grassy hill with my brother who was really there, sitting there smiling at me, just close enough to touch. We'd talked for hours about nothing and then without a word he'd gotten up and left. That was when I woke up. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was freezing in my room. Gods, sometime living under rock sucked. It never insulated and let's just say the only heat I even got was my own body heat.

As soon as I sat up though and pushed my unruly mass of curls out of my face, the door banged open and Ella stormed in. I cried out in surprise and almost fell out of my bed as she shouted, "what are you doing! Get up!"

I tried to scramble to my feet and ended up falling to the floor in a tangled mass of blankets. Ella yanked them off of me and shouted, "your late! You were supposed to be up three hours ago!"

"When did I agree to that?" I inquire bitterly as Ella yanks me to my feet. She narrows her eye and growls, "of course you weren't listening."

She drags me out of the room by my arm and as I pull against her vice-like grip, I say, "um Ella, my dress and everything is back in my ro-"

"Oh you are not wearing that old thing!"

"That old thing! I got it a week ago!" I shout as she yanks me down one hall and then another. We moved so quickly and turned down so many random halls that I eventually lost track of where we were. When I try to ask Ella where we are going, she snorts and yanks open a door. She shoved me into a room I've never been in before in my life. It was all white marble with hanging curtains everywhere, there was the heavy sent of lavender in the air and deeper in the room there were peels of giggling. Ella slams and locks the door behind her and I say, "Ella, why are we-"

"Someone get me a bath of water!" Ella shouted as she grabbed me by my already sore arm and dragged me through curtains hanging everywhere and into a small area. Three other women were buzzing around gathering things and throwing them into the bath as Ella began to yank my hair up into a twisted bun. I cried out in pain but she didn't hear me apparently because next, she striped me butt naked and practically pushed me into the water.

The water was freezing, like ice going up my nose, and if there is one thing Ella can do, it's wake you up quickly. I gasped as some of the water went up my nose and Ella growled, "it would have been warm if you had been up earlier!"

The water around me ripples from me shivering and I hiss, "so you couldn't have drained it and filled it again?"

"Of course not!" One of the nymphs chides as she prepared bath salts. Great, they were all on Ella's side in this. Ella grabs my hand and yanking it up to her face runs her fingertip along my nails and then growls, "your still biting your nails."

I yank my hand away and holding it to my chest I challenge, "yeah, so?"

She narrows her eyes and shouts to one of her little helpers, "get me a file, then start washing her, we don't have enough time to go slowly."

"What are you talking about! The ball isn't for another four hours!" I shout as Ella yanks me toward her and starts to pull the tie out of my hair. She laughs sarcastically and then growls, "that's not nearly enough time to pretty you up."

Deep down, she doesn't know how much that stings.

(/)

Three hours later I'm sitting in front of a vanity with a dress on that probably rivaled the Queen of Sheba's, my hair was effortlessly curled and pulled into a style that would probably require help later in finding all the pins; and of course Ella had fought me for almost half an hour on makeup before she had held me down literally, and put it on. Ella smiles and then whispered, "see you look so beautiful."

"I feel silly." I whispered breathlessly. Much as Ella had protested, the corset was _toSto_ tight. I shifted uncomfortably and then say, "is all this really necessary, wouldn't we want him to see me dressed semi-normally?"

Ella snorts and then helping me up she starts to push me toward the doors which were opened as soon as we stepped near them. Ella starts in surprise and almost pushed me into my dad who was standing there completely surprised to see us. Ella huffed and then growled, "what are you doing Henry? You're supposed to be with Kate."

"She was worried that you were dolling K.C up too much," he glanced me up and down and then with a soft laugh said, "apparently she was right."

Ella snorts and then looking me up and down once more she says, "this is hardly dolling up. No more than I did to Kate when she was at Eden."

My dad shakes his head smiling for a moment lost in past it seemed, and then offering me his arm he says, "my darling."

I slip my hand into the crock of his elbow and he starts to walk me down hallway. I glare over my shoulder at Ella who makes a sarcastic smiling motion with her hands, making me crinkle my nose. We had practiced my entrance for half and hour yesterday and eventually my mom had almost ripped Ella's throat out over her nitpicking, which was the signal that everything was fine and that we were done practicing. Honestly, I loved my mom.

The silence is so heavy in the halls that the clicking of my heels on the ground starts to grate at my nerves. I grip my dad's arm tighter and try to walk on my toes to stop the sound. He smiles down at me and then whispers, "you look beautiful sweet heart."

"I feel like Ella's play toy." I growl as I lift my skirt to keep from tripping on it. Gods this dress was heavy. It was gorgeous though, if Ella was good at something, it was picking the heaviest, most eye catching dress. The midnight blue fabric was contrasted sharply by the gold threading that was around my wrists and neck, creating the illusion of sunlight breaking in the darkness. I had protested to the choker-like collar, but Ella had insisted that it looked good, as well as the dark blue sapphire gems that had been tied into my hair and that dangled from my ears.

My dad smiles and then leaning close to my ears he whispers, "you're just fine. I think he will love you."

I look up at him and whisper fearfully, "what if he doesn't? What if it's just like you and aunt Persephone. I don't want to hurt him!"

He sighs and we pause outside of the doors to the grand ballroom, that I had only just learned existed the other day, and he turns to me and with a stern voice that he rarely uses with me he says, "you will be fine. If he hurts you, you will leave immediately, harm his feelings or not, you will leave and come straight back to me and your mother."

I nod slowly and he sighs, a slight smile coming to his lips as he presses his lips to my hair line and takes my hands tightly in his own. He motions to the doors and then whispers, "you will be fine, just smile and be yourself."

I don't think my dad realizes that being myself means going out horseback riding and shooting arrows. It means lying in the dirt afterward just smelling the wet grass and taking in everything around me. It's the fiery passion in me that I inherited from my mom, and the quiet determination and strength from my dad. All molded together into a package that was anything but petite and worthy of betrothal.

He pushes open the doors softly and as they slide open to the soft sound of music reaches my ears and I whisper, "I didn't chose this song. I bet Ella changed everything I picked."

My dad smiles at me and then whispers, "I bet your right." He places one last kiss one my forehead before passing through the huge double doors.

He starts down the steps where he meets my mom at the bottom and continues up to the front. They won't be on the dais with me, but they will be right behind me, supporting me every step of the way. My mom looks beautiful as usual. Regal in every aspect, her stance screams confidence and composer, my dad and her make a good pair. As soon as they are up at the front the music stops and I take a deep breath and then start down the stairs and into the grand ballroom.

People glance up at me and I flint my gaze over the crowd looking for one face in particular. I growl slightly when I don't see him, and then force a smile as I reach the bottom of the stairs. How could I have been so stupid as to think he would show up? It wasn't like Milo has been there for anything else.

The crowd starts to part on front of me and in that moment I felt like my future was spiraling out of my hands and I had no way of catching it again. My breath hitches in my throat and I swallow past the swelling lump thats forming there. I almost can't catch my breath because of the corset but I want to at least be able to talk to the guy when I first see him.

As the crowd parted for me, there was a soft murmur as people finally saw the man I was going to marry. Funny how they got to see him before I did. The last of the crowd moved aside and my stomach twisted so tightly, that I was in serious danger of being sick right then and there.

Through the crowd, moving like water in a river, was a young man no older than me, maybe nineteen or twenty. His hair was a sweep of pale blond hair, so pale in fact, it almost looked white. He wore a light blue ensemble with a matching cloak that swirled behind him slightly as he moved towards me. It snapped behind him as he walked and the closer I looked at it, the more I noticed that it had to be made of something other than fabric, it shone like diamonds or water that was being reflected on. His eyes were the most striking though, a stark blue that was almost the same color as his ensemble. They bore into me, looking me over as if I were an alien he had never seen before. Then again, I was positive I had never seen him before. As soon as he stood before me, I realized how tall he was. He towered over me, at least a head taller than me. I met his eyes softly and he narrowed his in response, making me lower my eyes quickly.

For the space of a few heartbeats, we didn't move, then I slowly slipped into a deep curtesy, the deepest one I could muster in that moment that is, with my legs shaking like wet noddles. My knee lightly brushed the floor and my skirt scattered around me in a midnight blue pool. He appeared to melt slightly at this and then preformed a hasty bow. When we both rose again he offered me his hand and I looked at it, terrified. His hands were solid, not moving at all, so certain was he in this whole thing. I reached out slowly, only to see my hand trembling as it slid into his.

His grip was tight as it closed around my hand, like he was afraid I would pull away if he didn't hold tightly enough; then again, I was scared I would do that. His palm was cold against mine, freezing in fact. It sent a shiver up my arm and I looked up at him, wondering if he had stuck his hand on a freakin' ice bucket or something before coming here. He didn't appear to see my reaction though since he began to guide me up the aisle toward the dais as if we had done this a hundred times before.

He guided me through the crowd and I think he knew by then that I was shaking like I was a wet dog, because he glanced at me with a icy expression that honestly rivaled a frozen pond. I looked away quickly from him, terrified of meeting those icy blue eyes, he was so... foreboding; he seemed so closed off, as if he didn't want to give me the time of day.

As we passed through the crowd, the whispers started. People shook their heads and leaned to the person next to them and whispered. The worst though was the pitying glances everyone threw me as I walked by, like I was pretty much walking to my imminent doom. Those looks did nothing to quench my nerves.

We approached the throne room's dais and when we stopped at the base if it, he let go of my hand like it was a live wire. I glanced to him momentarily, but his eyes were straight ahead, looking out the floor to ceiling glass widows as if the rock out there was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. I looked away from him and down at my hands which I clasped tightly in front of me.

There was a soft coughing sound from in front of me and I looked up to see Walter motioning us forward. As much as I wanted to glare at him openly and kick him in shins for doing this to me, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was pretty sure that he would smite me anyway if I even tried. As we ascended I seriously thought I was going to trip over my dress and make a complete fool of myself in the process. So I hiked my skirts up pretty much to my knees and received a literal threat on my life from Ella mentally if I didn't put my skirts down. I let them slip slightly to my ankles and she whispered that it was better in my head. At the top we paused in front of Walter who smiled at us briefly before raising his hands as if going to embrace us both. He smiled at us both but I didn't miss the subtle gleam of delight at the struggle he was putting my family through as he called to the ballroom so the whole hall could hear him, "here we stand tonight, prepared to unite two of our young together-"

"Wait what?" I whisper softy and Walter blinks at me as if he were surprised that I would have the guts to interrupt him, before hissing under his breath, "hush."

I narrow my eyes slightly and then whisper my own frustration, "I had no idea that we were being married tonight-"

"Do you actually think I would marry you when I had just met you?" He hissed next to me. My head whipped around to look at him and I whispered hurriedly, since I was pretty sure the rest of the hall had noticed that something was going on up here, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little overwhelmed right now, so if you would just-"

"Stop talking, you sound idiotic when you speak like that." He hissed in reply and I swallowed my retort quickly. He glared at me openly and then turning to Walter, he nodded his head, informing him to continue. Walter smiled softly and then raising his hands once more he continued his speech. Then and there, I knew why everyone had been throwing me the pitying looks. This guy was a complete asshole, one of Walter's puppets that was used to keep people he hated in line.

I shivered in terror at what might be coming in the future. The action caused him to look at me and I cursed myself because I felt my eyes watering at the torture I knew was coming my way faster than I could stop it. My parents were not going to be able to help me, I was going to be alone. What was I going to do? It wasn't like I had any power in swaying the Council's decisions, Milo at least had some voice, but he wasn't here anymore, he had ditched me in this hell and had taken off with Clio-

I felt a soft pressure on my hand and I looked down In surprise to see his hand on my own, squeezing gently, as if he were trying to reassure me. I looked up at his face to see it soften momentarily as his eyes softened before turning back to Walter and returning to its original sternness. So he did know that I was struggling with this whole thing, and maybe he was too?

After what felt like hours standing up there with Walter droning on and on about how important it was that we preserve all that had been created and all that was to be created-don't get me wrong, I knew damn well what he was saying with that comment- we were allowed to step down and through the crowd, which parted around us like we were a fatal disease. It was required that we have the first dance of the evening. Everyone would be watching carefully, some to see what might have happened up on the dais, others would be watching to spread rumors like wildfires.

We stopped in the middle of everyone, who parted to form a giant circle around us, and taking my hand softly he hissed under his breath, "I hope Ella at least taught you how to dance."

I glare up at him and then hiss a reply, "of course I know how to dance, what, you think I was born yesterday or something?"

His frown grows deeper and I wonder if I imagined the look he had given me up on the dais, then he blinks and growls, "then we have nothing to worry about."

We start into the steps and I glare at his chest, refusing to look up at his face.

_Stop acting like a child!_

Ella's voice rattles my thoughts for a moment and I stumble slightly, almost succeeding in tripping over my dress and falling flat on my face, because the Fates know he wouldn't have caught me. His grip on my waist tightens as he adjusts to my slip and I end up getting my balance quickly, no use embarrassing myself further and giving Walter exactly what he wants. He spins me away slightly and I turn under his arm, I don't have to give it much effort since he's like a tower next to me. I return to his arms and he holds me a little closer that before. Gods this guy was like the King of freakin' Mixed Signals!

Eventually he looked down at me, like he's sneaking a peek, then he looks back up like I didn't just catch him pretty much looking down my dress. Asshole.

He glances down again and I hiss, "anything you see interest you in the slightest?" The arm around my hip squeezes tighter and I gasp in surprise at the feeling and he whispers in my ear, "don't think I enjoy this, having to tote around a little brat like you, like I actually want to marry you!"

"Why the hell did you agree to this then?"

He glares down at me and then leaning as close as he can without kissing me, he hisses, "because it was me, or something much worse. You take your pick, your Highness."

"My name is K.C, not your highness." I growl as he spins me softly. To any passer by we look like we're just dancing, but if they looked a little closer, they would see the sneers and hear the growls in our tones. Honestly, I didn't care if they did.

He glances me over again as we pull away in one of the steps, when he holds me at arms length, he whispers, "I wouldn't mind you, you're pretty, but your mouth is disgusting."

"Well my apologies, I'll tell Ella to put more lipstick on next time." I growl as he pulls me close again. We glare at each other for a few seconds before I say, "besides, this is just betrothal. I get to chose if I want to marry you."

"I'm afraid that is not how this works." He whispers, and for the first time tonight, he drops the growl and the sneer and actually looks tired. He shakes this off quickly though, and I know right then and there, that this whole thing with him is a lie. He's acting, playing a game to keep himself under Walter's radar. Gently, like speaking to a wild animal, I whisper, "you don't have to pretend with me, I'm not happy with the situation either."

For a second, he looks surprised by my comment then with the first genuine smile I've seen from him, he says, "glad we agree on at least one thing."

The rest of the dance we are both silent.


End file.
